“The Getaway,” by Chloe Martinez (Poetry ’09)

Chloe Martinez’ poem “The Getaway” was recently featured in The Penn Review. Read an excerpt below:

The Getaway

Sound puzzle, you cluck irritatingly on the living room floor 
when left to your own devices, or stay silent when prompted,
or else you moo. Guilt gift from a trip on which I hardly had time

to touch a cactus. Mother-love, mother leaving, “girls’ getaway” 
weekend experiment. Poolside time fraught with 
phone calls. My friends, the two Jennies, in their bright 

sundresses, well, we did have a drink in one of those
Sinatra bars, something about the moon, full of rather joyful
possibly alcoholic retirees…

Find the rest of this poem here (https://www.pennreview.org/the-getaway-palm-springs) and check out Chloe’s poem “The Newlyweds Feast in Winter” at the Crab Orchard Review: https://www.pennreview.org/the-getaway-palm-springs